Signal encoding apparatus, audio data transmitting method, audio data recording method, audio data decoding method and audio disc

ABSTRACT

A format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disc is composed of an audio manager (AMG) and a plurality of audio title sets (ATSs) following the AMG. A plurality of audio packs are arranged in each ATS. An audio signal indicating a musical composition is encoded to audio data in a signal processing circuit, and the audio data is arranged in the audio packs. The audio data of the audio packs are formatted in a DVD formatting unit with the AMG to be arranged in the ATSs following the AMG. Also, copyright information is arranged in an area of a control data block placed in a read-in area of the DVD-Audio disc. Table-of-contents (TOC) information indicating a top address of the audio data is automatically produced and is arranged in an empty area of the control data block reserved for the copyright information, in an area of the audio packs, in an area of the AMG or in an area of the ATSs. The AMG, the ATSs including the audio packs and the TOC information arranged at the data format in the DVD formatting unit are transmitted to a human editor through a transmission medium and is recorded in the DVD-Audio disc.

This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 09/238,727,filed Jan. 28, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,403.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a signal encoding apparatus forencoding an audio signal or audio and video signals to audio data oraudio/video data to be recorded in an audio recording medium, an audiodata transmitting method for transmitting the audio data encoded in theencoding apparatus through a transmission medium, an audio datarecording method for recording the audio data transmitted according tothe audio data transmitting method in the audio disc, audio datadecoding method for decoding the audio data transmitted according to theaudio data transmitting method, and an audio disc for recording audiodata to be read out from its top position.

2. Description of the Related Art

2.1. Previously Proposed Art

A conventional compact disc (CD) has been known as a conventional audiosignal playback optical disc. Also, a digital video disc (or a digitalversatile disc) (DVD) has been recently known as an optical disc havinga packing density higher than that of the CD. The digital video disc iscalled DVD-video disc in this specification.

Also, a DVD-Audio disc has been recently known as an optical disc formusic.

2.2. Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, in cases where both a video signal (or video data) and an audiosignal (or audio data) are recorded in the same DVD-video disc, thevideo signal is primarily recorded in the DVD-video disc, and therecording of the audio signal is subordinated to the recording of thevideo signal. Therefore, there are following problems.

First, the audio signal is integrated with the video signal in theDVD-video disc, so that the audio signal and the video signal arerecorded as a set. Therefore, a memory capacity for the audio signal isconsiderably lower than that for the video signal.

Secondly, a time management for the audio signal cannot be performedindependent of the video signal.

Thirdly, simple text information such as a music name cannot be read outfrom the DVD-video disc.

Also, because users, who are entertained with music obtained by playingback the audio signal, desire the DVD-video disc to be used for variouspurposes as compared with users entertained with a picture relating tothe video signal, a simple audio play method is required of theDVD-video disc. For example, the users for the audio signal desires toarrange an area of table-of-contents (TOC) in the DVD-video disc in thesame manner as in the CD. However, in the DVD-video disc, a videocontents block unit is composed of a navigation control pack (called aCONT pack), a plurality of video (V) packs and a plurality of audio (A)packs, and the playback of the video and audio packs is controlled byusing the CONT pack. Therefore, even though a user intends to primarilyrecord the audio signal in the DVD-video disc independence of the videosignal, a user cannot easily play back the audio signal, so that thereis a problem that the DVD-video disc is not very useful for the user.

Also, the time management in the DVD-video disc is performed for eachvideo frame. Therefore, even though a user intends to primarily recordthe audio signal in the DVD-video disc independence of the video signal,because it is important to continuously play back the audio signal ascompared with the video signal, there is a problem that it is difficultto perform a time management for the audio signal in real time.

Also, in cases where a musical composition is recorded in a DVD-Audiodisc, when the musical composition is played back, users desire that themusical composition is easily played back from its top position. Also,it is convenient for users that the DVD-Audio disc is compatible withthe DVD-video disc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to provide a signal encodingapparatus in which an audio signal or audio and video signals areencoded to audio data or audio/video data to be primarily recorded in anaudio disc and to be easily read out from the audio disc according toTOC (table-of-contents) information recorded in the audio disc.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an audio datatransmitting method in which audio data (or an audio signal) istransmitted to a human editor to be primarily recorded in an audio disc.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an audio datarecording method in which audio data (or an audio signal) transmitted toa human editor is recorded in an audio disc to be primarily recorded.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an audio datadecoding method in which audio data transmitted to a human editor isdecoded to be primarily recorded in an audio disc.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an audio disc inwhich audio data of a musical composition (or a movement of a symphony)is recorded to be easily played back from the top position of themusical composition.

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide an audio datatransmitting method in which audio data of a musical composition (or amovement of a symphony) is transmitted through a recording medium or atransmission medium to be easily played back from the top position ofthe musical composition.

The first object is achieved by the provision of a signal encodingapparatus, comprising:

signal encoding means for encoding a signal to produce audio data, audiotitle set information and table-of-contents (TOC) information;

formatting means for formatting the audio data produced by the signalprocessing means, audio manager information and audio title setinformation to arrange the audio data in an audio pack, to arrange theaudio manager information in an area of an audio manager and to arrangethe audio title set information in an area of an audio title set, andarranging table-of-contents (TOC) information in an area reserved forcopyright information which is arranged in a control data block providedaccording to a DVD-ROM standard, in the audio pack, in the area of theaudio manager, in a table-of-contents (TOC) file or in the area of theaudio title set; and

outputting means for outputting the audio data, the audio managerinformation, the audio title set information and the table-of-contents(TOC) information formatted by the formatting means.

In the above configuration, audio data is produced by encoding a signalin the signal encoding means. Thereafter, the audio data is arranged inan audio pack, audio manager information is arranged in an area of anaudio manager, audio title set information is arranged in an area of anaudio title set, and table-of-contents (TOC) information is arranged inan area reserved for copyright information which is arranged in acontrol data block provided according to a DVD-ROM standard, in theaudio pack, in the area of the audio manager, in a table-of-contents(TOC) file or in the area of the audio title set. The TOC informationdenotes information of a title, information of a start address of theaudio data, information of a music play time and the like. Therefore,the audio data, the audio manager information, the audio title setinformation and the TOC information are formatted. Thereafter, the audiodata, the audio manager information, the audio title set information andthe TOC information are output.

Accordingly, in cases where the audio data is primarily recorded in anaudio disc such as a DVD-ROM-audio disc, a DVD-ROM-Van disc or aDVD-ROM-audio disc type 2, because the table-of-contents (TOC)information is arranged in an area reserved for copyright information,in the audio pack, in the area of the audio manager, in thetable-of-contents (TOC) file or in the area of the audio title set, theaudio data can be easily read out from the audio disc according to theTOC information.

The second object is achieved by the provision of an audio datatransmitting method, comprising the steps of:

preparing audio data, audio manager information, audio title setinformation and table-of-contents (TOC) information;

formatting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information and the table-of-contents (TOC) information toarrange the audio data in an audio pack, to arrange the audio managerinformation in an area of an audio manager, to arrange the audio titleset information in an area of an audio title set and to arrange thetable-of-contents (TOC) information in an area reserved for copyrightinformation which is arranged in a control data block formattedaccording to a DVD-ROM standard, in the audio pack, in the area of theaudio manager, in a table-of-contents (TOC) file or in the area of theaudio title set; and

transmitting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information and the table-of-contents (TOC) informationthrough a transmission medium.

In the above steps, the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio title set information and the TOC information are formatted andtransmitted to a personal computer of a human editor through thetransmission medium. Therefore, the human editor can primarily recordthe audio data in an audio disc such as a DVD-ROM-audio disc, aDVD-ROM-Van disc or a DVD-ROM-audio disc type 2.

Accordingly, because the table-of-contents (TOC) information is arrangedin an area reserved for copyright information, in the audio pack, in thearea of the audio manager, in the table-of-contents (TOC) file or in thearea of the audio title set, the audio data can be easily read out fromthe audio disc according to the TOC information.

The third object is achieved by the provision of an audio data recordingmethod, comprising the steps of:

preparing audio data, audio manager information, audio title setinformation and table-of-contents (TOC) information;

formatting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information and the table-of-contents (TOC) information toarrange the audio data in an audio pack, to arrange the audio managerinformation in an area of an audio manager, to arrange the audio titleset information in an area of an audio title set and to arrange thetable-of-contents (TOC) information in an area reserved for copyrightinformation which is arranged in a control data block formattedaccording to a DVD-ROM standard, in the audio pack, in the area of theaudio manager, in a table-of-contents (TOC) file or in the area of theaudio title set;

transmitting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information and the table-of-contents (TOC) informationthrough a transmission medium;

receiving the audio data, the audio manager information, the audio titleset information and the table-of-contents (TOC) information through thetransmission medium; and

recording the audio data, the audio manager information, the audio titleset information and the table-of-contents (TOC) information.

In the above steps, the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio title set information and the TOC information are formatted andtransmitted to a personal computer of a human editor through thetransmission medium. When the human editor receives the audio data, theaudio manager information, the audio title set information and the TOCinformation, the human editor records the audio data, the audio managerinformation, the audio title set information and the TOC information.

Accordingly, in cases where the audio data is primarily recorded in anaudio disc such as a DVD-ROM-audio disc,-a DVD-ROM-Van disc or aDVD-ROM-audio disc type 2, the audio data can be easily read out fromthe audio disc according to the TOC information.

The fourth object is achieved by the provision of an audio data decodingmethod, comprising the steps of:

preparing audio data, audio manager information, audio title setinformation, table-of-contents (TOC) information and a decoding program;

formatting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information, the table-of-contents (TOC) information and thedecoding program to arrange the audio data in an audio pack, to arrangethe audio manager information in an area of an audio manager, to arrangethe audio title set information in an area of an audio title set and toarrange the table-of-contents (TOC) information in an area reserved forcopyright information which is arranged in a control data blockformatted according to a DVD-ROM standard, in the audio pack, in thearea of the audio manager, in a table-of-contents (TOC) file or in thearea of the audio title set;

transmitting the audio data, the audio manager information, the audiotitle set information, the table-of-contents (TOC) information and thedecoding program through a transmission medium;

receiving the audio data, the audio manager information, the audio titleset information, the table-of-contents (TOC) information and thedecoding program through the transmission medium; and

decoding the audio data, the audio manager information, the audio titleset information and the table-of-contents (TOC) information according tothe decoding program.

In the above steps, the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio title set information, the table-of-contents (TOC) information andthe decoding program are formatted and transmitted to a personalcomputer of a human editor through the transmission medium. When thehuman editor receives the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio title set information, the table-of-contents (TOC) information andthe decoding program, the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio title set information and the TOC information are decodedaccording to the decoding program. Therefore, the audio data, the audiomanager information, the audio title set information and the TOCinformation can be recorded in a disc.

Accordingly, in cases where the audio data is primarily recorded in anaudio disc such as a DVD-ROM-audio disc, a DVD-ROM-Van disc or aDVD-ROM-audio disc type 2, the audio data can be easily read out fromthe audio disc according to the TOC information.

The fifth object is achieved by the provision of an audio disc forrecording data at a data format, the data format comprising:

an audio file, having a file name, for arranging audio data of a musicalcomposition at an audio format; and

a table-of-contents (TOC) file, having a file name, for arrangingtable-of-contents (TOC) information, which indicates a position of theaudio data arranged in the audio file to play back the audio data from atop position of the musical composition, at a TOC format.

In the above configuration, when the audio data arranged in the audiofile is played back by using an audio player, because a top position ofthe musical composition is specified according to the TOC informationarranged in the table-of-contents (TOC) file, the audio data is playedback from a top position of the musical composition.

Accordingly, the top position of the musical composition is easilyspecified, and a user can entertain the musical composition from its topposition.

The sixth object is achieved by the provision of an audio datatransmitting method, comprising the steps of:

arranging audio data of a musical composition at an audio format as anaudio file;

arranging table-of-contents (TOC) information, which indicates aposition of the audio data to play back the audio data from a topposition of the musical composition, at a TOC format as atable-of-contents (TOC) file; and

transmitting the audio data of the musical composition and thetable-of-contents (TOC) information through a recording medium or acommunication circuit to record the audio data arranged at the audioformat and the table-of-contents (TOC) information arranged at the TOCformat.

In the above steps, the audio data of the musical composition arrangedat the audio format and the TOC information arranged at the TOC formatare transmitted to a human editor through a recording medium or acommunication circuit and are recorded in an audio disc. Because the TOCinformation indicates a position of the audio data, when the audio datais read out from the audio disc, a top position of the musicalcomposition is specified according to the TOC information, and the audiodata can be easily played back from a top position of the musicalcomposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing a fundamental format of datarecorded on the basis of DVD video standards in a DVD-video discaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is an explanatory view showing a fundamental format of datarecorded in a DVD-Audio disc according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an audio contents block unit(ACBU) shown in FIG. 1B according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of the audiopack (and the video pack) shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of an audiocontrol (A-CONT) pack shown in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing in detail an area of audiocharacter display (ACD) information shown in FIG. 4 according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of a music namedisplayed according to information arranged in a name space area shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of an audiosearch data (ASD) area shown in FIG. 4 according to the first embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an audio contents block unit(ACBU) shown in FIG. 1B and a video contents block unit (VCBU) shown inFIG. 1A according to a modification of the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9A shows a format of data recorded in a DVD-Van (video-audionavigation) disc on the basis of the DVD video standards according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is an explanatory view showing a video contents block unit(VCBU) shown in FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing in detail an area of audiocharacter display (ACD) information arranged in a video manager (VMG)and/or a video title set (VTS) according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of an audiosearch data (ASD) area arranged in a video manager (VMG) and/or a videotitle set (VTS) according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of anavigation control pack (CONT pack) shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration of PCIdata shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration of PCIgeneral information (PCI GI) shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration ofrecord information (RECI) shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration of datasearch information (DSI) shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration of DSIgeneral information (DSI GI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration ofseamless playback information (SML PBI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration ofseamless angle information (SML AGLI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing an example of a series of VOBUs,of which head addresses are described in an area of VOBU searchinformation (VOBU SRI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration of VOBUsearch information (VOBU SRI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing in detail a configuration ofsynchronization information (SYNCI) shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a recordingarea of a DVD;

FIG. 24 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a control datablock of a read-in area of the DVD shown in FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a sector ofphysical format information shown in FIG. 24;

FIG. 26A shows a format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disc;

FIG. 26B shows another format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disc;

FIG. 27A is an explanatory view showing a configuration of TOCinformation recorded in an area (from the sector No. 8 to the sector No.15) of copyright information shown in FIG. 24;

FIG. 27B is an explanatory view showing a configuration of each simpleaudio play pointer shown in FIG. 27A;

FIG. 27C is an explanatory view showing another configuration of eachsimple audio play pointer shown in FIG. 27A;

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view showing a format of a track attribute(SAPP-ATR) shown in FIG. 27B;

FIG. 29 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-ROM-audiodisc type according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 shows a portion of an audio title set (ATS) according to thethird embodiment;

FIG. 31A is an explanatory view showing a format of data in which TOCinformation is recorded in a management area such as AMG or ATSI of ATSor in a pack such as a CONT pack in the DVD-Van disc or theDVD-ROM-audio disc type;

FIG. 31B is an explanatory view showing a format of data in which TOCinformation is recorded in a management area such as AMG or ATSI of ATSor in a pack such as an A pack in the DVD-Audio disc, the DVD-Van discor the DVD-ROM-audio disc type;

FIG. 32 is a block diagram of a signal encoding apparatus according to afourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a flow chart showing a data encoding method performed in thesignal encoding apparatus shown in FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a signal encoding apparatus according to amodification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 35 is a flow chart showing a data encoding method performed in thesignal encoding apparatus shown in FIG. 34;

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of a personal computer of a data receivingside (or a human editor side) to which audio source (audio data andvideo data) and a decoding program prepared according to one of thefirst to third embodiments are transmitted from a data transmitting side(or an encoding apparatus side);

FIG. 37 is a flow chart showing a processing performed in the personalcomputer shown in FIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is a block diagram of a network terminal shown in FIG. 36;

FIG. 39 is a flow chart showing a processing performed in a dataconverting unit of a transmission terminal shown in FIG. 38;

FIG. 40 is a flow chart showing a processing performed in a dataconverting unit of a reception terminal shown in FIG. 38;

FIG. 41A shows a processing performed in a data converting unit of atransmission terminal shown in FIG. 38;

FIG. 41B shows a processing performed in a data converting unit of areception terminal shown in FIG. 38;

FIG. 42 shows the selection of an optimum route performed in the networkNW shown in FIG. 38;

FIG. 43 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 44 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc according to a modification of the fifthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 45 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 46 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discwith musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) data according to aseventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 47 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to an eighth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 48 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of a data encoding apparatus, an audio datatransmitting method, an audio data decoding method and an audio datarecording method according to the present invention are described withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-video discon the basis of DVD video standards according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention, and FIG. 1B shows a fundamental format of datarecorded in a DVD-Audio disc according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

Though area names in a data format of the DVD-video disc differ fromthose in a data format of the DVD-Audio disc, the data formats arecompatible with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a format of data recorded in aDVD-video disc is composed of a video manager (VMG) placed at the toparea of the DVD-video disc and a plurality of video title sets (VTS)following the VMG, and a format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disc iscomposed of an audio manager (AMG) placed at the top area of theDVD-Audio disc and a plurality of audio title sets (ATS) following theAMG.

Each VMG includes video manager information (VMGI) for managing thevideo title sets (VTS).

Each VTS is composed of VTS information (VTSI) placed at the top area ofthe VTS, one or more video contents block sets (VCBS) following the VTSIand a VTS information (VTSI) placed at the final area of the VTS, andeach ATS is composed of top ATS information (ATSI) placed in the toparea of the ATS, one or more audio contents block sets (ACBS) and afinal ATS information (ATSI) placed in the final area of the ATS.Contents of one musical composition (or contents of one movement of asymphony) is set in the area of each ACBS, and a music play time of themusical composition corresponding to each ACBS is set in the area of thetop ATSI as a piece of table-of-contents (TOC) information.

Each VCBS is composed of a plurality of video contents block (VCB)respectively corresponding to one title of a video signal, and each VCBis composed of a plurality of chapters. Each chapter includes a part oftitle (PTT). Also, each ACBS (or called a title set) is composed of aplurality of audio contents blocks (ACB) respectively corresponding toone title of an audio signal, and each ACB is composed of a plurality oftracks corresponding to the chapters. Each track includes a part oftitle (PTT).

Each chapter is composed of a plurality of cells, each cell is composedof a plurality of VCB units (VCBU), and each VCBU is composed of aplurality of packs. Also, each track is composed of a plurality ofindexes corresponding to the cells, each index is composed of aplurality of ACB units (ACBU) corresponding to the VCB units, and eachACBU is composed of a plurality of packs. Each pack of the ACBU iscomposed of 2048 bytes, and Each pack of the VCBU is composed of 2048bytes.

The packs of the VCBU are classified into a navigation control pack(called a CONT pack) placed in the top area of the VCBU, a plurality ofvideo (V) packs, a plurality of audio (A) packs and a plurality ofsub-picture (SP) packs following the CONT pack. Also, the packs of theACBU are classified into an audio-control pack (called an A-CONT pack)placed in the top area of the ACBU, a plurality of audio (A) packs and aplurality of video (V) packs following the A-CONT pack.

In the CONT pack, information for controlling the video packs followingthe CONT pack is arranged. In the A-CONT pack, information (for example,TOC information arranged in the CD) for managing an audio signal of theaudio packs following the A-CONT pack is arranged. In each audio pack,audio data is arranged. In each video pack, video data and data (forexample, closed caption (CC) data) other than the audio data arearranged.

FIG. 2 shows the audio contents block unit (ACBU) shown in FIG. 1Baccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, each video contents block unit (VCBU) is composed ofa plurality of packs corresponding to a time period ranging from 0.4 to1.0 second (the number of packs is arbitrary), and each audio contentsblock unit (ACBU) is composed of a plurality of packs corresponding to atime period ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 second (the number of packs isarbitrary). Also, the A-CONT pack in the ACB unit of the DVD-Audioformat is arranged as the third pack in the VCB unit of the DVD-videoformat.

The A-CONT pack is basically arranged for each audio time of 0.5 second,and a final A-CONT pack placed in the end portion of each index isspaced apart from an A-CONT pack adjacent to the final A-CONT pack at atime period ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 second. Also, a group of audio frameunits (GOF) corresponding to one audio time is indicated by the A-CONTpack, and a data position of the A-CONT pack is determined by the numberof audio frames, the number of first access unit pointers and the numberof frame headers. Also, it is not required that the A pack just beforethe A-CONT pack is packed at an interval of 0.5 second in the audiotime.

The ACBU and the VCBU are shown in FIG. 2 to indicate the compatibilitybetween the DVD-Audio disc and the DVD-video disc. That is, in caseswhere a DVD-Audio disc player is used to play back packs shown in FIG.2, each VCBU shown in FIG. 2 is disregarded because the DVD-Audio discplayer cannot detect the VCBU, and each ACBU is played back by theDVD-Audio disc player. In contrast, in cases where a DVD-video discplayer is used to play back packs shown in FIG. 2, each ACBU shown inFIG. 2 is disregarded because the DVD-video disc player cannot detectthe ACBU, and each VCBU is played back by the DVD-video disc player.

A pair of audio packs adjacent to each other are arranged to correlateaudio signals of the audio packs with each other. For example, an audiopack of an L-channel audio signal is adjacent to an audio pack of aR-channel audio signal in case of a stereo. Also, a plurality ofadjacent audio packs of audio signals in a multi-channel such gas 5channels are arranged to correlate a plurality of audio signals of theadjacent audio packs with each other. In cases where a video isdisplayed when an audio signal is played back, a video pack of the videois arranged in adjacent to an audio pack of the audio signal.

FIG. 3 shows in detail a format of the audio pack (and the video pack)according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, in each pack (A pack and V pack), a pack header (14bytes) composed of pack start information of 4 bytes, system clockreference (SCR) information of 6 bytes, multiplex (MUX) rate informationof 3 bytes and a stuffing of 1 byte is added to user data (audio data ofthe pack or video data of the pack) of 2034 bytes. Therefore, each pack(A pack and V pack) has 2048 bytes. In this case, the SCR informationdenoting a time stamp is set to “1” in the top pack of each ACB unitcorresponding to one title, and the values of the SCR information in thepacks of the same title are consecutively changed. Therefore, theplayback time for the A packs in the same title can be managed.

FIG. 4 shows in detail a format of an audio control (A-CONT) pack shownin FIG. 1B.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 4, each A-CONT pack is composed of a backheader of 14 bytes, a system header of 24 bytes, an audio characterdisplay (ACD) packet of 1003 bytes and an audio search data (ASD) packetof 1007 bytes arranged in that order. Also, the ACD packet is composedof a packet header of 6 bytes, sub-stream identification data of 1 byte,audio character display (ACD) information of 636 bytes (shown in FIG. 5in detail) and a reserved area of 360 bytes arranged in that order. Theaudio character display (ACD) information indicates display characters(or a display text) relating to audio data of the audio (A) packsfollowing the A-CONT pack, and the display characters indicated by theaudio character display (ACD) information are displayed while playingback the audio data of the A packs. Also, the ASD packet is composed ofa packet header of 6 bytes, sub-stream identification data of 1 byte andaudio search data (ASD) of 1000 bytes (shown in FIG. 7 in detail)arranged in that order. The audio search data (ASD) denotes display timecontrol data for controlling a display time of the display charactersindicated by the audio character display (ACD) information.

FIG. 5 shows in detail an area of the audio character display (ACD)information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, an area of the ACD information is composed of anarea (48 bytes) for general information, an area (294 bytes) forcharacters C1 (or a text) of a first language and an area (294 bytes)for characters C2 (or a text) of a second language. Each character areais composed of an area (93 bytes) of a name space, two areas of two freespaces respectively having 93 bytes and an area (15 bytes) of a datapointer.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a music name displayed according toinformation arranged in the name space area.

Title information indicating a music name expressed in Japanese isarranged in one of the name space areas of the characters C1 and C2, sothat the music name is, for example, displayed in Japanese as shown inFIG. 6. Also, title information indicating the music name expressed inEnglish is arranged in the other name space area, so that the music nameis displayed in English as shown in FIG. 6. It is applicable that theinformation be set by a disc selling agency.

The general information of 48 bytes is, for example, composed of servicelevel information of 16 bytes, language code information of 12 bytes,character set code information of 6 bytes, display item information of 6bytes, “difference of ACD information from previous ACD information”information of 2 bytes and reserve information of 6 bytes. The servicelevel information of 16 bytes indicates a display size of the titleinformation, a display type of the title information, a distinctionbetween audio information, video information and sub-picture (SP)information, and an audio stream. Also, the characters of the titleinformation is mandatory, and a bit map of the title information isoptional. In the language code information of 12 bytes, the firstlanguage and the second language are respectively indicated by alanguage code of 2 bytes in the same manner as in a video file, and thelanguage code information can indicate a maximum of 8 languages. Englishis mandatory.

As the character set code information of 6 bytes, a maximum of 15character codes corresponding to the language codes can be arranged. Theexistence of the characters C1 or C2 in one language and a type of thelanguage are indicated by a character code of 1 byte. For example,character codes ISO646, ISO8859-1 and MS-JIS are used.

The display item information of 6 bytes indicates the existence of dataarranged in each free space, the existence of data arranged in the datapointer and an identifier. Data arranged in the name space is mandatory,and a title name, a music name and an artist name are necessarilywritten.

FIG. 7 shows in detail a format of the audio search data (ASD) areaaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the audio search data (ASD) of 1000 bytes iscomposed of general information of 16 bytes, current number informationof 8 bytes, current date and time information of 16 bytes, title setsearch information of 8 bytes, title search information of 8 bytes,track search information of 404 bytes, index search information of 408bytes, highlight search information of 80 bytes and a reserved area of52 bytes.

The current number information of 8 bytes is composed of a current titlenumber (2 bytes: BCD) in a title set, a current track number (2 bytes:BCD) in the title set, a current index number (2 bytes: BCD) in a trackand a reserved area (2 bytes). The current date and time information of16 bytes is composed of a playback time (4 bytes: BCD) in the track, aplayback time (4 bytes: BCD) in the remaining portion of the track, anabsolute time (4 bytes: BCD) in a title and an absolute time (4 bytes:BCD) in the remaining portion of the title.

The title set search information of 8 bytes is composed of a top sectornumber (4 bytes) of the title set and a final sector number (4 bytes) ofthe title set. The title set search information of 8 bytes is composedof a top sector number (4 bytes) of one title and a final sector number(4 bytes) of the title. The track search information of 404 bytes iscomposed of track and sector numbers (4 bytes*99) of one title, a toptrack number (4 bytes) of the title and a final track number (4 bytes)of the title.

The index search information of 408 bytes is composed of index andsector numbers (4 bytes*100) of one track, a top index number (4 bytes)of the track and a final index number (4 bytes) of the track. Thehighlight search information of 80 bytes is composed of a plurality ofin-sector numbers (4 bytes*100) of one track and a plurality ofout-sector numbers (4 bytes*100) of the track.

In the above DVD-Audio format of the DVD-Audio disc, because the A-CONTpack of the DVD-Audio format is arranged at the top portion of each ACBUin the same manner as the TOC information of the CD to manage an audiosignal of a group of A packs following the A-CONT pack, audio datapacked in the A packs is not integrated with video data of V packs.Therefore, the audio data is arranged independent of the video data, sothat a memory capacity for the audio data can be sufficiently obtained.

Also, an audio playback time of the audio data can be managed accordingto audio control data of the A-CONT pack, and information of simplecharacters such as a music name relating to the audio data can be easilyextracted from the ACD area of the A-CONT pack and can be displayed.

Also, TOC information such as information of a title, information of astart address, information of a music play time and the like is arrangedin the A-CONT pack, even though the playback of the audio data iscontinued, the information corresponding to a user's operation can beextracted from the TOC information of the A-CONT pack, and thereproduction of the extracted information can be started. Therefore, theextracted information can be displayed while the user entertains amusical composition.

Also, in cases where the TOC information is arranged in audio managerinformation (AMGI) of the audio manager (AMG) or in the audio title setinformation (ATSI), the TOC information is stored in a memory of a discplayback apparatus, the information corresponding to a user's operationcan be immediately extracted from the memory according to the TOCinformation, and the reproduction of the extracted information can bestarted.

Also, though a large capacity of information like program chaininformation (PGCI) is usually recorded in the DVD-video disc, because itis not required to record a large capacity of information like programchain information (PGCI) in the DVD-Audio disc, the DVD-Audio disc canbe efficiently managed.

Also, in cases where any video (V) data is not arranged in ACBS, threeeffects can be obtained. That is, a search operation and a random accessoperation for three hierarchies composed of the title, the musicalcomposition and the index can be performed (first effect). The detectionof a top portion of each audio frame unit of the GOF, a time search anda random access can be performed (second effect). A time for playingback each title, a time for playing back each musical composition and atime for playing back each index can be managed in real time (thirdeffect).

Also, in cases where video (V) data is arranged in the ACBS, the abovefirst to third effects can be obtained for the audio data, and a currenttime and a remaining time can be displayed and managed in real time forthe audio data during the reproduction of each title or musicalcomposition (fourth effect).

Also, in cases where video (V) data is arranged in the ACBS, followingeffects can be obtained for the video data. A search operation and arandom access operation for three hierarchies composed of the title, thePTT and the cell can be performed (first effect for the video data). Thedetection of a top portion of each video frame unit, a time search and arandom access can be performed (second effect for the video data). Atime for displaying each title, a time for displaying each PTT and atime for displaying each cell can be managed in real time (third effectfor the video data). A current time and a remaining time can bedisplayed and managed in video frame unit time during the reproductionof each title or PTT (fourth effect for the video data).

In this embodiment, each ACBU shown in FIG. 2 includes one V pack andone CONT pack. However, as shown in FIG. 8, it is applicable that eachACBU does not include any CONT pack or V pack. In this case, though anyvideo signal is not recorded in the DVD-Audio disc, a recording capacityfor the audio signal in the DVD-Audio disc can be increased, so that asize of the DVD-Audio disc can be made small. Also, because a playbackmechanism in a disc playback apparatus can be simplified, a DVD-Audiodisc suitable for a portable type disc playback apparatus can beobtained.

Next, a second embodiment is described.

FIG. 9A shows a format of data recorded in a DVD-Van (video-audionavigation) disc on the basis of the DVD video standards according to asecond embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9B shows a videocontents block unit (VCBU) shown in FIG. 9A according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is an explanatory viewshowing in detail an area of audio character display (ACD) informationaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11is an explanatory view showing in detail a format of an audio searchdata (ASD) area according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

In the first embodiment, when pieces of audio data of the A packsrecorded in the DVD-Audio disc are played back in a DVD-Audio discplayer (or an audio data playback apparatus), the playback of the audiodata is controlled according to the audio search data (ASD) of theA-CONT pack shown in detail in FIG. 7. That is, when pieces of audiodata of the A packs are successively played back in a seamless playback,the playback of the audio data is controlled according to the currentnumber and the current time of the audio search data (ASD). In contrast,when pieces of audio data of the A packs are intermittently played backin a jump playback, the playback of the audio data is controlledaccording to search information such as title set search information,title search information, track search information, index searchinformation and highlight search information in the audio search data(ASD).

In contrast, in the second embodiment, to play back pieces of audio dataand video data recorded in a DVD-Van (video-audio navigation) disc byusing a DVD-video disc player, a format (shown in FIG. 9A) of datarecorded in a DVD-Van disc is based on the DVD video standards shown inFIG. 1A. That is, as shown in FIG. 9B, each video contents block unit(VCBU) does not include any A-CONT pack, and each video contents blockunit (VCBU) is composed of one CONT pack placed in the top area of theVCBU, a comparatively large number of A packs and a comparatively smallnumber of V packs and corresponds to a time period ranging from 0.4 to1.0 second (the number of packs is arbitrary). Also, each audio contentsblock unit (ACBU) is composed of one A pack, which is placed in the toparea of the ACBU and succeeds one V pack of the VCBU, a comparativelylarge number of A packs and a comparatively small number of V packs andcorresponds to a time period ranging from 0.4 to 1.0 second (the numberof packs is arbitrary). In cases where a DVD-video disc player is usedto play back packs shown in FIG. 9B, each ACBU shown in FIG. 9B isdisregarded because the DVD-video disc player cannot detect the ACBU,and each VCBU is played back by the DVD-video disc player. Here, VCBU isalso called VOBU on the basis of the DVD video standards.

Because each ACBU does not include any A-CONT pack, a packet of theaudio character display (ACD) information and a packet of the audiosearch data (ASD) arranged in each A-CONT pack in the first embodimentare arranged in each video manager (VMG) and/or each video title set(VTS) shown in FIG. 9A. Or, as shown in FIG. 9A, an audio manager AMG isadditionally arranged with each VMG, an audio title set (ATSI) isadditionally arranged with each VTS, and a packet of the audio characterdisplay (ACD) information and a packet of the audio search data (ASD)arranged in each A-CONT pack in the first embodiment are arranged ineach AMG and each ATS. The AMG and ATS additionally arranged have thesame function as those shown in FIG. 1B.

Also, because a packet of the audio character display (ACD) informationis arranged in the A-CONT pack, which is arranged for each ACBU (a timeperiod ranging from 0.4 to 1.0 second), in the first embodiment, audiocharacter display information for many display images can be recorded.However, in the second embodiment, because a packet of the audiocharacter display (ACD) information is arranged in each video manager(VMG) and/or each video title set (VTS), a volume of the ACD informationrecorded in the audio disc is limited. Accordingly, a title name of eachmusical composition or the like is recorded as audio character display(ACD) information because a data volume of the title name is low. Also,only one piece of audio playback control information described later isarranged in a packet of the audio character display (ACD) information.

Also, the audio character display (ACD) information has data of thecharacters C1 of the first language and data of the characters C2 of thesecond language in the first embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 10,it is applicable that audio playback control information of 294 bytes bearranged in place of the data of the characters C2 of the secondlanguage. Therefore, an area of the audio character display (ACD)information is composed of an area of the general information (48bytes), an area of the data of the characters C1 of the first language,for example, indicating “audio navigation” such as a name of a musicalcomposition (294 bytes) and an area of the audio playback controlinformation (294 bytes).

Contents of the audio playback control information are arbitrary. Forexample, the area of the audio playback control information (294 bytes)is composed of areas of 10 types of audio playback control informationrespectively having 25 bytes and a reserved area (44 bytes). These typesof audio playback control information are selected by a user to controla sound quality of the played-back audio signal. These types of audioplayback control information are recommended by professional humanmixers and are determined to set a sound quality of an audio signal in aplayback operation to a best condition according to a music category(for example, classic, jazz, rock or background music) of the audiosignal, a playing condition of the music, a recording condition of theaudio signal or circumstances of a playback condition in cases where theuser plays back the music of the audio signal arranged in the A packs.In the reserved area, a plurality of mixing coefficients are arranged.In cases where the number of channels for the audio signal is 6, thenumber of channels is mix-downed to 2 by using the mixing coefficients,so that the audio signal can be played back in stereo.

When pieces of audio data of a series of A packs are played back in aseamless playback, the seamless playback is performed according toinformation of a CONT pack. Therefore, a group of the current numberinformation (8 bytes) and the current time information (16 bytes)arranged in the audio search data (ASD) according to the firstembodiment is not required. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the area ofthe current number information, the area of the current time informationand the reserved area (52 bytes) arranged in the audio search data (ASD)shown in FIG. 7 are replaced with a reserved area (76 bytes) in thesecond embodiment. In this case, because any current number informationor any current time information is not arranged in the audio search data(ASD), a display operation or a playback control cannot be minutelyperformed. However, data recorded in the DVD-Van disc can be played backby using a DVD-video disc player. Therefore, in a transition periodbefore a steady period in which data recorded in the audio disc cannotbe played back by using a DVD-video disc player but can be played backby using a DVD-Audio disc player, the DVD-van disc, in which datareproducible by using a DVD-video disc player is recorded, is useful.

Next, the configuration of information packed in the CONT pack isdescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 shows in detail a configuration of a navigation control pack(CONT pack).

As shown in FIG. 12, the CONT pack, called a navigation control pack inthe DVD video standards, is composed of a pack header of 14 bytes, asystem header of 24 bytes, a presentation control information (PCI)packet of 986 bytes and a data search information (DSI) packet of 1024bytes. The PCI is called playback control information, and the PCIpacket is composed of a packet header of 6 bytes, a sub-streamidentification (ID) of 1 byte and PCI data of 979 bytes. The DSI packetis composed of a packet header of 6 bytes, a sub-stream identification(ID) of 1 byte and DSI data of 1017 bytes.

FIG. 13 shows in detail a configuration of the PCI data.

As shown in FIG. 13, the PCI data, which denotes navigation data forcontrolling the reproduction of the corresponding VOBU, is composed ofPCI general information (PCI-GI) of 60 bytes, a non-seamless angleinformation (NSML-AGLI) of 36 bytes, highlight information (HLI) of 694bytes and record information (RECI) of 189 bytes.

FIG. 14 shows in detail a configuration of the PCI general information(PCI GI).

As shown in FIG. 14, the PCI general information (PCI GI) of the PCIdata is composed of “LBN of the navigation control pack (CONT pack)” (NVPCK LBN) of 4 bytes, “category of the VOBU” (VOBU CAT) of 2 bytes, areserved area of 2 bytes, “user operation control information of theVOBU” (VOBU UOP CTL) of 4 bytes, “start PTM of the VOBU” (VOBU S PTM) of4 bytes, “end PTM of the VOBU” (VOBU E PTM) of 4 bytes, “end PTM of thesequence end in the VOBU” (VOBU SES PTM) of 4 bytes, “elapsed time in acell” (C ELTM) of 4 bytes, and a reserved area of 32 bytes.

In the “LBN of the navigation control pack” (NV PCK LBN), an address ofthe navigation control pack, in which the PCI is included, is describedfrom the top LB of the VOBS, in which the PCI is included, in RLBN.Also, in the “category of the VOBU” (VOBU CAT), conditions of analogprotection system (APS) of the VOBU are described.

The non-seamless angle information (NSML AGLI) shown in FIG. 13 denotesinformation relating to a changed address in an angle change and iseffective in cases where an angle cell change is changed to anon-seamless, that is, a seamless angle change flag is set in anon-seamless. The highlight information (HLI) shown in FIG. 13 denotesinformation for highlighting a rectangular area of a sub-picture displayarea, and a mixing ratio (or a contrast) of a video color and asub-picture color in a special rectangular area can be changed accordingto the highlight information. Also, a play time period of a sub-pictureunit (SPU) of each sub-picture stream is the same as an effective timeperiod of the highlight information (HLI).

FIG. 15 shows in detail a configuration of the record information(RECI).

As shown in FIG. 15, the record information (RECI) shown in FIG. 13 iscomposed of “ISRC of video data in a video stream” (ISRC V) of 10 bytes,“ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream #0” (ISRC A0) of 10bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream #1” (ISRC A1) of10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream #2”, (ISRC A2)of 10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream #3” (ISRCA3) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream #4”(ISRC A4) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audio stream#5” (ISRC A5) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decoding audiostream #6” (ISRC A6) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of audio data in a decodingaudio stream #7” (ISRC A7) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of sub-picture (SP) datain a decoding SP stream #0, #8, #16 or #24” (ISRC SPO) of 10 bytes,“ISRC of SP data in a decoding SP stream #1, #9, #17 or #25” (ISRC SP1)of 10 bytes, “ISRC of SP data in a decoding SP stream #2, #10, #18 or#226” (ISRC SP2) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of SP data in a decoding SP stream#3, #11, #19 or #27” (ISRC SP3) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of SP data in adecoding SP stream #4, #12, #20 or #28” (ISRC SP4) of 10 bytes, “ISRC ofSP data in a decoding SP stream #5, #13, #21 or #29” (ISRC SP5) of 10bytes, “ISRC of SP data in a decoding SP stream #6, #14, #22 or #30”(ISRC SP6) of 10 bytes, “ISRC of SP data in a decoding SP stream #7,#15, #23 or #31” (ISRC SP7) of 10 bytes, “a group of SP streams selectedfor the ISRC” (ISRC SP SEL) of 1 byte, and a reserved area of 18 bytes.

FIG. 16 shows in detail a configuration of the data search information(DSI) shown in FIG. 12.

As shown in FIG. 16, the data search information (DSI), which denotesnavigation data used to search data and to perform the seamless playbackof the VCBU, is composed of DSI general information (DSI GI) of 32bytes, seamless playback information (SML PBI) of 148 bytes, seamlessangle information (SML AGLI) of 54 bytes, VOBU search information (VOBUSRI) of 168 bytes, synchronization information (SYNCI) of 144 bytes anda reserved area of 471 bytes.

FIG. 17 shows in detail a configuration of the DSI general information(DSI GI).

As shown in FIG. 17, the DSI general information (DSI GI) is composed of“system clock reference (SCR) base of the navigation control pack” (NVPCK SCR) of 4 bytes, “LBN of the navigation control pack” (NV PCK LBN)of 4 bytes, “end address of VOBU” (VOBU EA) of 4 bytes, “end address ofa first reference picture of VOBU” (VOBU 1STREF EA) of 4 bytes, “endaddress of a second reference picture of VOBU” (VOBU 2NDREF EA) of 4bytes, “end address of a third reference picture of VOBU” (VOBU 3RDREFEA) of 4 bytes, “VOB ID number of VOBU” (VOBU VOB IDN) of 2 bytes, areserved area of 1 byte, “cell ID number of VOBU” (VOBU C IDN) of 1byte, and “cell elapsed time” (C ELTM) of 4 bytes.

FIG. 18 shows in detail a configuration of the seamless playbackinformation (SML PBI) shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 18, the seamless playback information (SML PBI) iscomposed of “category of seamless VOBU” (VOBU SML CAT) of 2 bytes, “endaddress of an inter-leaved unit” (ILVU EA) of 4 bytes, “start address ofa next inter-leaved unit” (NXT ILVU SA) of 4 bytes, “size of the nextinter-leaved unit” (NXT ILVU SZ) of 4 bytes, “start PTM of video in VOB”(VOB V S PTM) of 4 bytes, “end PTM of video in VOB” (VOB V E PTM) of 4bytes, and “end PTM of audio in VOB” (VOB A STP PTM) of 8 bytes*8, “gaplength of audio in VOB” (VOB A GAP LEN) of 8 bytes*8.

FIG. 19 shows in detail a configuration of the seamless angleinformation (SML AGLI) shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 19, the seamless angle information (SML AGLI) denotesinformation relating to a changed address in an angle change and iseffective in cases where an angle change is performed in seamless, thatis, in cases where a seamless angle change flag is set in a “seamless”.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a series of VOBUs, of which head addressesare described in an area of the VOBU search information (VOBU SRI) shownin FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 20, a head address of a VOBU to be played back at 0.5*Nseconds after a playback start time of a VOBU including the DSI in acell is described in the VOBU search information (VOBU SRI). Also, ahead address of a VOBU to be played back at 0.5*N seconds before aplayback start time of the VOBU including the DSI in the cell isdescribed in the VOBU search information (VOBU SRI). The VOBU searchinformation (VOBU SRI) is effective only in the corresponding cell.

FIG. 21 shows in detail a configuration of the VOBU search information(VOBU SRI) shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 21, the VOBU search information (VOBU SRI) is composedof “head address of a next VOBU having video data” (FWDI VIDEO) of 4bytes, “+240 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 240) of 4bytes, “+120 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 120) of 4bytes, “+60 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 60) of 4bytes, “+20 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 20) of 4bytes, “+15 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 15) of 4bytes, “+14 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 14) of 4bytes, “+13 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 13) of 4bytes, “+12 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 12) of 4bytes, “+11 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 11) of 4bytes, “+10 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 10) of 4bytes, “+9 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 9) of 4bytes, “+8 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 8) of 4bytes, “+7 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 7) of 4bytes, “+6 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 6) of 4bytes, “+5 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 5) of 4bytes, “+4 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 4) of 4bytes, “+3 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 3) of 4bytes, “+2 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 2) of 4bytes, “+1 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI 1) of 4bytes, “next VOBU head address and video existence flag” (FWDI Next) of4 bytes, “previous VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDIPrev) of 4 bytes, “−1 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI1) of 4 bytes, “−2 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 2)of 4 bytes, “−3 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 3) of4 bytes, “−4 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 4) of 4bytes, “−5 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 5) of 4bytes, “−6 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 6) of 4bytes, “−7 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 7) of 4bytes, “−8 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 8) of 4bytes, “−9 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 9) of 4bytes, “−10 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 10) of 4bytes, “−11 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 11) of 4bytes, “−12 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 12) of 4bytes, “−13 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 13) of 4bytes, “−14 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 14) of 4bytes, “−15 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 15) of 4bytes, “−20 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 20) of 4bytes, “−60 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 60) of 4bytes, “−120 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 120) of 4bytes, “−240 VOBU head address and video existence flag” (BWDI 240) of 4bytes, and “head address of a previous VOBU having video data” (BWDIVIDEO) of 4 bytes.

FIG. 22 shows in detail a configuration of the synchronizationinformation (SYNCI) shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 22, the synchronization information (SYNCI), whichdenotes pieces of address information of audio data and sub-picture dataplayed back in synchronization with the video data of the VOBU includingthe DSI, is composed of “addresses of audio packs (A PCK)” (A SYNCA 0 to7) of 2 bytes*8, and “head addresses of VOBUs for sub-picture packs (SPPCK)” (SP SYNCA 0 to 31) of 4 bytes*32.

Next, a disc identification according to the first and secondembodiments is described.

FIG. 23 shows a configuration of a recording area of a DVD.

As shown in FIG. 23, a recording area of a DVD comprises a read-in areaand a data area. The read-in area of the DVD comprises all blocks of 00hfrom a read-in start block to a block just before a sector number“02F000h”, a reference code block corresponding to 2 blocks from thesector number “02F000h” to a block just before a sector number“02F020h”, all 30 blocks of 00h from the sector number “02F020h” to ablock just before a sector number “02F200h”, a control data blockcorresponding to 192 blocks from the sector number “02F200h” to a blockjust before a sector number “02FE00h”, and all 32 blocks of 00h from thesector number “02FE00h” to a block just before a sector number “03000h”.Also, the data area of the DVD comprises blocks starting from the sectornumber “03000h”, character codes ISO 9660 and micro universal discformat (UDF) data are recorded in the data area, and an audio title set(TS), a video TS, a computer TS and the like are recorded in the dataarea.

FIG. 24 shows a configuration of the control data block of the read-inarea of the DVD shown in FIG. 23.

As shown in FIG. 24, physical format information is recorded in a sector(a sector No. 0) of the control data block, disc production informationis recorded in a sector (a sector No. 1) of the control data block, andcopyright information is recorded in a plurality of sectors (from asector No. 2 to a sector No. 15) of the control data block. An emptyarea, in which the copyright information is not recorded, exists in thesectors No. 2 to No. 15.

FIG. 25 shows a configuration of the sector of the physical formatinformation.

As shown in FIG. 25, the sector of the physical format informationcomprises an area of a book type and a part version, an area of a discsize and a minimum read-out rate, an area of a disc structure, an areaof a recording density and an area of a data area allocation. The areaof a book type and a part version is allocated as a disc identification.That is, upper bits of the disc identification indicates a DVD-ROM disc,a DVD-RAM disc or a DVD-write once disc. In cases where the upper bitsindicates the DVD-ROM disc, lower bits of the disc identificationindicates a computer program disc, a pure video disc, a video-audionavigation disc: Van-disc, an audio disc or an audio disc type 2.

Therefore, a disc identification indicating the DVD-ROM-audio disc isdescribed in the disc corresponding to the first embodiment according tothe book type and the part version. Also, a disc identificationindicating the DVD-ROM-Van-disc is described in the disc correspondingto the second embodiment according to the book type and the partversion.

Also, though any TOC information, for example, indicating a top addressof a musical composition (or a movement of a symphony) is not recordedin the read-in area of the DVD-ROM-pure video disc, the TOC information,for example, indicating a top address of a musical composition (or amovement of a symphony) is recorded in the read-in area of theDVD-ROM-audio disc corresponding to the first embodiment and in theread-in area of the DVD-ROM-Van-disc corresponding to the secondembodiment.

Accordingly, because the number of A packs is larger than the number ofV packs in each VOBU, in cases where video data of the V packs isreproduced on a display, static pictures or a moving picture movedslightly are displayed. However, because audio data of the A packs ofeach VOBU is played back according to information of the CONT pack basedon the DVD video standards, the audio data of the A packs can be playedback by using a DVD-video disc player.

In cases where audio data of A packs is recorded in a hierarchicalstructure composed of title, track and index to search the A packs forthe audio data or in cases where audio data of A packs can be accessedat random, the audio data can be easily played back. However, there is aproblem that the recording of the TOC information indicating a positionof the audio data in the disc is complicated. Also, in cases where asimple playback of the audio data is performed by using the TOCinformation, unless a sampling frequency of the audio data is specified,the audio data cannot be played back. In cases where the TOC informationis recorded in the read-in area, which is adopted in the DVD-video disc,of the DVD-Audio disc or the DVD-Van disc, unless the TOC informationrecorded in the DVD-Audio disc or the DVD-Van disc is compatible withthe TOC information recorded in the DVD-video disc and is easilyaccessed, it is difficult to widely spread the DVD-Audio disc or theDVD-Van disc in which the audio data is recorded with the TOCinformation.

To avoid the above problems, a DVD-Audio disc having a hierarchicalstructure to present the contents in a DVD-Audio zone is described withreference to FIG. 26A.

FIG. 26A shows a format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disc.

As shown in FIG. 26A, a DVD-Audio disc has a navigation information of ahierarchical structure to present the contents in a DVD-Audio zone,which is composed of Album, Group, Audio Title (ATT), Track and Index.The navigation information is a kind of TOC information and is sometimescalled TOC information. As shown in FIG. 31B by a symbol “TOC”, thenavigation information called TOC information may be placed in the AMGand the ATSI. In this presentation structure, Group and Track shall beaccessible by User, and Album and Index may be accessed by User. The ATTis used only as the internal logical unit to present the contents. AnAlbum is a Volume. The contents in the DVD-Audio disc are recorded ineither one side or two sides, but each side shall have one Volume. AGroup is a Title Group (TT GR) and contains one or more Audio Title(s).ATTs within the same Title Group shall guarantee the continuouspresentation.

Audio data of a musical composition (or a movement of a symphony) isarranged for each Track, so that TOC information is prepared for eachTrack. Also, because a plurality of Tracks are arranged in the order ofarranging the ATTs, pieces of TOC information are prepared in the orderof arranging the Audio Titles (ATTs), so that the audio data recorded inthe DVD-Audio disc can be efficiently managed. The pieces of TOCinformation are also called TOC information for convenience.

Also, a sampling frequency of the audio data or the number ofquantization bits in the audio data is arranged in the TOC informationfor each track, a simple playback of the audio data can be easilyperformed by using the TOC information.

Also, the TOC information is additionally recorded in an empty area (ora reserved area) of the copyright information which is recorded in thecontrol data block of the read-in area adopted in the DVD-video disc.For example, as shown in FIG. 24, because an area from the sector No. 2to the sector No. 15 in the control data block of the read-in area of aDVD is reserved in advance for the copyright information, the TOCinformation is recorded in an empty area (or a reserved area) from thesector No. 8 to the sector No. 15. In this case, the copyrightinformation is recorded in an area from the sector No. 2 to the sectorNo. 7.

FIG. 27A shows a configuration of TOC information recorded in the area(from the sector No. 8 to the sector No. 15) of the copyrightinformation shown in FIG. 24.

As shown in FIG. 27A, TOC information, which is called a simple audioplay pointer (SAPP), comprises simple audio play pointer tableinformation (SAPPTI) of 16 bytes, and simple audio play pointers #1 to#n (SAPP #1 to #n) of 48*n bytes. The simple audio play pointer tableinformation (SAPPTI) comprises an SAPPTI identifier of 12 bytes, thenumber of SAPPs of 2 bytes and an SAPPTI end address of 2 bytes. Eachsimple audio play pointer (SAPP) denotes TOC information for the trackpointed by the SAPP.

FIG. 27B shows a configuration of each simple audio play pointer.

As shown in FIG. 27B, each simple audio play pointer (SAPP) comprises agroup of the SAPP (1 byte), a track No. of the SAPP (1 byte), a startpresentation time of the first cell in the track pointed by the SAPP (4bytes), a playback time of the track pointed by the SAPP (4 bytes), apause time of the track pointed by the SAPP (4 bytes), an attribute(SAPP-ATR) of the track pointed by the SAPP (4 bytes), a reserved area(18 bytes), a start address of the track pointed by the SAPP (4 bytes),a start address of the first cell of the track pointed by the SAPP (4bytes), and an end address of the track pointed by the SAPP (4 bytes).

In FIG. 26A, the hierarchical structure in the navigation informationcalled TOC information is composed of Album, Group, Audio Title (ATT),Track and Index. However, as shown in FIG. 26B, it is applicable thatthe hierarchical structure in the navigation information called TOCinformation be composed of Album, Audio Title Set (ATS), Audio Title(ATT), Track and Index. In this case, a configuration of each simpleaudio play pointer is shown in FIG. 27C.

FIG. 28 shows a format of the track attribute (SAPP-ATR).

As shown in FIG. 28, the format of the track attribute (SAPP-ATR) isdescribed in a direction from the most significant bit (MSB) to theleast significant bit (LSB). The track attribute (SAPP-ATR) is composedof the number of quantization bits of 4 bits (b23 to b20), a samplingfrequency Fs of 4 bits (b15 to b12) and a decoding audio stream numberof 3 bits (b7 to b5). Pieces of information of the simple audio playpointers #1 to #n (SAPP #1 to #n) are recorded in track portions, whichare obtained by dividing a track (or a movement) into n pieces, with analbum number belonging to the track.

Next, a third embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 29 and FIG.30.

FIG. 29 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-ROM-audiodisc type 2 according to a third embodiment of the present invention,and FIG. 30 shows a portion of an audio title set (ATS) according to thethird embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29, data to be reproduced by using a DVD-video discplayer is recorded in a DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 as DVD-video data of avideo title set (VTS) at a video format, and data to be played back byusing a DVD-Audio disc player is recorded in the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type2 as DVD-Audio data of an audio title set (ATS) at an audio format.

The DVD-video data recorded at the video format comprises a videomanager (VMG) shown in FIG. 1A, a video manager menu (VMGM)corresponding to video data and audio data relating to the video data,and a video title set (VTS <1>) managed by video manager information(VMGI) of the VMG. In the VTS <1>, video data and audio data relating tothe video data are arranged.

The DVD-Audio data recorded at the audio format comprises an audiomanager (AMG) shown in FIG. 1B, an audio manager menu (AMGM)corresponding to video data and audio data relating to the video data, afirst audio title set (ATS <1>) managed by audio manager information(AMGI) of the AMG and a second audio title set (ATS <2>) managed by theaudio manager information (AMGI) of the AMG. In the ATS <1>, audio datais arranged, and contents of the audio data of the ATS <1> is the sameas contents of the audio data of the VTS <1>. That is, the audio data isrecorded not only at the video format but also at the audio format. Inthe ATS <2>, audio data is arranged, and contents of the audio data ofthe ATS <2> differs from contents of the audio data of the VTS <1>. Thedetail of the ATS <1> and ATS <2> is shown in FIG. 30.

Also, as shown in FIG. 30, the ATS <2> do not have any A-CONT pack, butthe ATS <2> has A packs for each cell (or index).

In addition, a program executed in a computer is recorded in theDVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 as a computer program title set (CTS).

In this embodiment, the VTS <1> is arranged in the DVD-ROM-Audio disctype 2. However, it is applicable that the VTS <1> be omitted from theDVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2.

Data recorded in a read-in area of the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 is thesame as that recorded in the DVD-Van disc according to the secondembodiment except that a disc identifier indicating “DVD-ROM-Audio disctype 2” is recorded in the read-in area of the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2as “book type, part version” of the physical format information (referto FIG. 25). Therefore, data recorded in the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2cannot be played back by using a DVD-video disc player, but can beplayed back by using a special disc player. However, because the TOCinformation is additionally recorded in an empty area of the copyrightinformation of the control data block recorded in the read-in area whichis adopted in the DVD-video disc, a simple playback can be performed.Also, pieces of TOC information are prepared in the order of arrangingthe Audio Titles (ATTS) in the same manner as in the second embodiment,so that the data recorded in the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 can beefficiently managed. Also, in cases where a sampling frequency of theaudio data or the number of quantization bits in the audio data isincluded in the TOC information for each track, a simple playback of theaudio data can be easily performed by using the TOC information.

In the first to third embodiments, the TOC information is recorded inthe read-in area. However, as shown in FIG. 31A, it is applicable thatthe TOC information be recorded in a management area such as AMG or ATSIof ATS or in a pack such as a CONT pack in the DVD-Van disc of thesecond embodiment or the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type of the thirdembodiment. Also, as shown in FIG. 31B, it is applicable that the TOCinformation is recorded in a management area such as AMG or ATSI of ATSor in a pack such as A pack in the DVD-Audio disc of the firstembodiment, the DVD-Van disc of the second embodiment or theDVD-ROM-Audio disc type of the third embodiment.

Next, a signal encoding apparatus is described.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram of a signal encoding apparatus according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 32, in a signal encoding apparatus 30, an analog audiosignal A is sampled in an A/D converting unit 31 at a high samplingfrequency (corresponding to a sampling frequency Δt) such as 192 kHz, sothat a PCM digital audio signal having a high resolution is producedfrom the analog audio signal. The PCM digital audio signal is composedof a series of PCM audio data (Xb1,X1,Xa1,X2,Xb2,X3,Xa2,--,Xbi,X2i-1,Xai,X2 i,--) corresponding to a high resolution curved line α. Here,each piece of PCM audio data is, for example, expressed by 24 bits, andthe symbol “i” is a positive integral number. Thereafter, the series ofPCM audio data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i} is encoded to user data in a signalprocessing circuit 32 and a memory 33 and is sent to a DVD formattingunit 34.

In detail, in the signal processing circuit 32, a frequency band of theseries of PCM audio data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i} is limited to half in alow pass filter such as a finite-duration impulse-response (FIR) filter.Therefore, a series of band limited audio data(Xc1,*,*,*,Xc2,*,*,*,Xc3,*,*,*,--,Xci,*,*,*,--) corresponding to a lowresolution curved line β is produced as a band limited digital audiosignal from the series of PCM audio data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i}. Here,the symbol “*” denotes one piece of band limited audio data. The seriesof band limited audio data is temporarily stored in the memory 33.

Thereafter, the piece of data “*” are removed from the series of bandlimited audio data, and a series of sampling frequency reduced data{Xci}=(Xc1,Xc2,Xc3,--,Xci,--) is produced as a sampling frequencyreduced signal from the series of band limited audio data. The series ofsampling frequency reduced data {Xci} denotes a data series obtained byband-limiting the series of PCM audio data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i} andreducing the sampling frequency (192 kHz) to ¼. The series of samplingfrequency reduced data {Xci} is temporarily stored in the memory 33.

Also, the pieces of data Xi are removed from the PCM audio data {Xbi,X2i-1,Xai,X2 i}, and a series of thinned-out audio data(Xb1,Xa1,Xb2,Xa2,--,Xbi,Xai, --) is produced as a thinned-out audiosignal from the PCM audio data. The series of thinned-out audio data istemporarily stored in the memory 33.

Thereafter, a difference Δ1 i=Xbi−Xci and a difference Δ2 i=Xai−Xci arecalculated, so that a series of differential audio data {Δ1 i} and aseries of differential audio data {Δ2 i} are produced from the series ofsampling frequency reduced data {xci} and the series of thinned-outaudio data {Xbi,Xai}. The differential audio data Δ1 i and Δ2 i can berespectively expressed by 24 bits (=3 bytes) or less, and the number ofbits expressing each piece of differential data is set to a fixed valueof 24 or is set to be variable.

Thereafter, the series of sampling frequency reduced data {Xci}, theseries of differential audio data {Δ1 i} and the series of differentialaudio data {Δ2 i} are packed to produce a packet of user data {Xci,Δ1i,Δ2 i} (refer to FIG. 3) having 2034 bytes (1 packet=2034 bytes). Thepacket of user data {Xci,Δ1 i,Δ2 i} is output to the DVD formatting unit34.

Also, in cases where each piece of PCM audio data is expressed by 16bits, it is applicable that the series of PCM audio data {Xbi,X2i-1,Xai,X2 i} be directly packed in the allocation circuit 40 to producea packet of user data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i}. In this case, the packet ofuser data {Xbi,X2 i-1,Xai,X2 i} is output to the DVD formatting unit 34.

Also, an analog video signal V is converted into a digital video signalin an A/D converting unit 36, the digital video signal is encoded in a Vencoder 37 to produce pieces encoded video data of the MPEG format, thepieces encoded video data are packed to produce a packet of user datashown in FIG. 3, and the packet of user data is sent to the DVDformatting unit 34.

In the DVD formatting unit 34, the packet of user data produced from theanalog audio signal and the packet of user data produced from the analogvideo signal are packed with text information and a disc identifier inthe format (refer to FIG. 1B and FIG. 31B) of the DVD-ROM-Audio discaccording to the first embodiment, in the format (refer to FIG. 9A andFIG. 31A) of the DVD-ROM-Van disc according to the second embodiment orin the fundamental format (refer to FIG. 29 and FIG. 31B) of theDVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 according to the third embodiment.

Thereafter, in a first audio data recording method, the data formattedin the DVD formatting unit 34 are modulated in a modulating circuit 35according to a modulation method corresponding to the disc (theDVD-ROM-Audio disc according to the first embodiment, the DVD-ROM-Vandisc according to the second embodiment or the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2according to the third embodiment) to produce pieces of modulated data,and the pieces of modulated data are recorded in the disc.

Also, in a second audio data recording method, the data formatted in theDVD formatting unit 34 are recorded in an intermediate recording mediumin a recording unit 38. Thereafter, in an audio data transmittingmethod, the intermediate recording medium is handed over to a humaneditor such as a recording producer or an engineer. In another audiodata transmitting method, the data recorded in the intermediaterecording medium is transmitted to a terminal of the editor through acommunication interface (I/F) 39. Thereafter, the editor modulates thedata recorded in the intermediate recording medium according to amodulation method corresponding to the disc, and pieces of modulateddata are recorded in the disc(the DVD-ROM-Audio disc, the DVD-ROM-Vandisc or the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2).

Also, in a third audio data recording method, the data formatted in theDVD formatting unit 34 are directly transmitted to the terminal of theeditor through the communication interface (I/F) 39, the editormodulates the data according to a modulation method corresponding to thedisc, and pieces of modulated data are recorded in the disc (theDVD-ROM-Audio disc, the DVD-ROM-Van disc or the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type2).

FIG. 33 is a flow chart showing a data encoding method performed in thesignal encoding apparatus 30.

As shown in FIG. 33, the video signal V is input to the A/D convertingunit 36 (step S101) and is encoded to video data in the V encoder 37(step S102). Also, the audio signal A is input to the A/D convertingunit 31 (step S103) and is processed to user data in the signalprocessing unit 32 (step S104). Also, text information and a discidentifier are input (step S105) and are encoded (step S106).

Thereafter, the video data, the user data of the audio signal A, thetext information and the disc identifier encoded in the steps S102, S104and S106 are converted into audio source data arranged in a formatcorresponding to the DVD-ROM-Audio disc, the DVD-ROM-Van disc or theDVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2 (step S107) in the DVD formatting unit 34.That is, a plurality of audio title sets (ATSs) are produced from theaudio data and the video data, an audio manager (AMG) is automaticallyproduced, TOC information is automatically produced, and the AMG, theATSs and the TOC information are formatted. Thereafter, the audio sourcedata including the TOC information is output to a terminal of a humaneditor (step S108).

FIG. 34 is a block diagram of another signal encoding apparatusaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 34, in a signal encoding apparatus 40, a computerdecoding program CP required to decode the video data, the user data ofthe audio signal A (that is, the audio data), the text information andthe disc identifier encoded in the V encoder 37 and the signalprocessing circuit 32 is input to an interface (I/F) 41. For example,the computer decoding program CP is arranged in an area of a computerprogram title set (CTS) shown in FIG. 29. Also, it is applicable that acomputer encoding program used to encode the video signal V, the audiosignal A, the text information and the disc identifier be additionallyinput to the interface 41.

FIG. 35 is a flow chart showing a data encoding method performed in thesignal encoding apparatus 40.

As shown in FIG. 35, the computer decoding program CP is input with thetext information and the disc identifier (step S111) and are encoded(step S112). Thereafter, the video data, the user data of the audiosignal A, the computer decoding program CP, the text information and thedisc identifier encoded in the steps S102, S104 and S112 are convertedinto audio source data arranged in a format corresponding to theDVD-ROM-Audio disc, the DVD-ROM-Van disc or the DVD-ROM-Audio disc type2 in the DVD formatting unit 34, and a prescribed scrambling processingis performed for the formatted audio source data (step S113). That is, aplurality of audio title sets (ATSs) are produced from the audio dataand the video data, an audio manager (AMG) is automatically produced,TOC information is automatically produced, and the AMG, the ATSs and theTOC information are formatted. Thereafter, the scrambled audio sourcedata including the TOC information is output at a prescribedtransmission rate (step S114) and is recorded in a recording medium(step S115). The scrambled audio source data recorded in the recordingmedium is transmitted to the terminal of the human editor.

In this embodiment, the TOC information is automatically produced in theDVD formatting unit 34. However, it is applicable that a part of TOCinformation be input to the DVD formatting unit 34 through the interface(I/F) 41 with the computer decoding program CP.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram of a personal computer of a data receivingside (or a human editor side) to which audio source data (audio data andvideo data) and a computer decoding program CP prepared according to oneof the first to third embodiments are transmitted from a datatransmitting side (or an encoding apparatus side), and FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing a processing performed in the personal computer.

As shown in FIG. 36, the audio source data and the computer decodingprogram CP recorded in the recording medium are read out by using a discdriver 104, or the audio source data and the computer decoding programCP output from the signal encoding apparatus 30 are transmitted to apersonal computer 106 of the human editor through a network terminal105. Thereafter, the audio source data and the computer decoding programCP are decoded and played back in the personal computer 106.

The personal computer 106 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 106a having a set of instructions (for example, an extended instruction set(MMX) of PP55C of Intel Co., LTD.) prepared for a special use toefficiently process a digital video signal and a digital audio signal, arandom access memory (RAM) 106 b used as a buffer in a data processingoperation, a data converter 106 c for converting the audio source datawhich is read out from a disc by using the disc driver 104 or istransmitted through the network terminal 105, an audio interface (I/F)106 d for supplying the audio source data processed in the dataconverter 106 c to a plurality of speakers 103L and 103R (in addition, aspeaker 103C and a speaker 103S for a surround effect) through a D/Aconverter and an amplifier (not shown), a display processor 106 e forperforming a display control for a display unit (not shown), and anoperation signal generating unit 106 f for generating an operationsignal according to an input signal input from a mouse or a keyboard(not shown) by an operator.

In the above configuration, an operation of the personal computer 106 isdescribed with reference to FIG. 37.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart showing a data encoding method performed in thepersonal computer 106.

As shown in FIG. 37, the CPU 106 a is set to a condition for receiving acomputer decoding program. Therefore, when a program load command isinput to the operation signal generating unit 106 f through a keyboard(step S201), a computer decoding program CP read out from a disc byusing the disc driver 104 or transmitted from a data transmitting sidethrough the network terminal 105 is loaded in the data converter 106 c(step S202) and is stored in the RAM 106 b. After the completion of theloading of the computer decoding program CP, a program load flag is set(step S203), and the CPU 106 a is set to a condition for receiving audiosource data. Because an extended instruction set (MMX) can be processedin the CPU 106 a, a high speed signal processing can be performed in theCPU 106 a.

Also, when a play command is input to the operation signal generatingunit 106 f through the keyboard, the personal computer 106 accesses to afirst track of a disc (the DVD-ROM-Audio disc, the DVD-ROM-Van disc orthe DVD-ROM-Audio disc type 2) of a data transmitting side, a discidentifier indicating a type of the disc is read out, and it is checkedin the CPU 106 a whether or not the disc identifier indicates “audiosource data” (step S204). In cases where the disc identifier indicates“audio source data”, audio source data is read out from the disc, adecoding processing is performed for the audio source data according tothe computer decoding program CP in the CPU 106 a to obtain audio data(or an audio signal) and video data (or a video signal) (step S205), andthe audio data and the video data are delivered to the audio I/F 106 dand the display processor 106 e (step S206). The step S205 and the stepS206 are performed for each predetermined volume of audio source data,the audio data is played back by the speakers 103L and 103R, and animage indicated by the video data is displayed on a display unit.

In contrast, in cases where the disc identifier does not indicate “audiosource data”, a message “playback impossible” is displayed on a displayunit (step S207). Also, if required, an encoding processing isperformed.

Therefore, a human editor can edit an audio signal transmitted from thedata transmitting side through a recording medium or a communicationmedium.

Next, the transmission of the computer decoding program CP and the audiosource data from the data transmitting side to the data receiving sideis described in detail.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram of the network terminal 105.

As shown in FIG. 38, the network terminal 105 is composed of atransmission terminal 105T arranged on the data transmitting side, areception terminal 105R arranged on the data receiving side and anetwork NW. The transmission terminal 105T comprises a transmission databuffer 111 for temporarily storing transmission data (for example, theaudio source data and the computer decoding program CP), a dataconverting unit 112 for converting the transmission data into pieces ofpacket data, an adapter 113, a terminal 114, and a controller 115 forcontrolling the transmission data buffer 111, the data converting unit112, the adapter 113 and the terminal 114. The reception terminal 105Rcomprises a terminal 121, an adapter 122, a data converting unit 123 forconverting the pieces of packet data into reception data (for example,the audio source data and the computer decoding program CP), a receptiondata buffer 124, connected with an internal bus of the personal computer106, for temporarily storing the transmission data, and a controller 125for controlling the terminal 121, the adapter 122, the data convertingunit 123 and the reception data buffer 124.

In the above configuration, an operation performed in the dataconverting unit 112 of the transmission terminal 105T and an operationperformed in the data converting unit 123 of the reception terminal 105Rare described. FIG. 39 is a flow chart showing a processing performed inthe data converting unit 112 of the transmission terminal 105T, FIG. 40is a flow chart showing a processing performed in the data convertingunit 123 of the reception terminal 105R, FIG. 41A shows a processing forproducing a series of packets from transmission data, and FIG. 41B showsa processing for reproducing reception data from the series of packets.

As shown in FIG. 39 and FIG. 41A, the data converting unit 112 dividesthe transmission data stored in the transmission data buffer 111 intopieces of data having the same data length to transmit the pieces ofdata as a series of packets (step S301). Thereafter, a header includingan address of the reception terminal 105R is arranged at the topposition of each packet (step S302), and the series of packets is outputto the network NW through the adapter 113 and the terminal 114 (stepS303).

As shown in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41B, the header is removed in the dataconverting unit 112 from each packet received through the terminal 121and the adapter 122 (step S311), and reception data is obtained byreproducing the data from the series of packets (step S312), and thereception data is transferred to the RAM 106 b through the receptiondata buffer 124 (step S313).

FIG. 42 shows the selection of an optimum route performed in the networkNW.

The terminals 114 and 121 are connected with each other through thenetwork NW. Each piece of packet data is transmitted through a cabletelevision (CATV) circuit representing the network NW or is transmittedthrough an internet representing the network NW according to aTransmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In the networkNW, as shown in FIG. 42, an optimum route is selected by a router R foreach packet, the packets are separated, the packets pass through aplurality of packet switching units Pn corresponding to the packets andare transmitted to the personal computer 106 in series.

Accordingly, the audio source data transmitted from the datatransmitting side can be decoded in the personal computer 106 of thedata receiving side according to the computer decoding program CPtransmitted from the data transmitting side.

Next, a fifth embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 43.

FIG. 43 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc according-to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown in FIG. 43, a format of data to be recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc belonging to one type of DVD-Audio disccomprises a video file F1 in which data to be reproduced by using aDVD-video disc player is arranged, an audio file F2 in which data to beplayed back by using a DVD-Audio disc player is arranged, atable-of-contents (TOC) file F3 in which TOC information described inFIG. 26A, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27B and FIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG.27C and FIG. 28 is arranged, and a computer program title set (CTS) fileF4 in which a program executed by a computer is arranged.

The video file F1 classified as a video title set (VTS) shown in FIG. 1Aand FIG. 9A comprises a video manager (VMG), a video manager menu (VMGM)and video title sets VTS<1> to VTS<n>. In the VMGM, video data and audiodata relating to the video data are arranged. Also, in each of theVTS<1> to VTS <n>, video data and audio data relating to the video dataare arranged.

The audio file F2 classified as an audio title set (ATS) shown in FIG.1B comprises an audio manager (AMG), an audio manager menu (AMGM) andaudio title sets ATS<1> to ATS<n>. In the AMGM, video data and audiodata are arranged. Contents of the video data in the AMGM differs fromcontents of the video data in the VMGM, and contents of the audio datain the AMGM differs from contents of the audio data in the VMGM. In eachof the ATS<1> to ATS<n>, audio data is arranged. Contents of the audiodata in each of the ATS<1> to ATS<n>differs from contents of the audiodata in each of the VTS<1> to VTS<n>.

The TOC information of the table-of-contents (TOC) file F3 indicates atop address of the audio data of the audio file F2, so that the topaddress of the audio data of the audio file F2 is specified according tothe TOC information when a DVD-Audio disc player searches the audio fileF2, and the audio data of the audio file F2 is played back from a topposition of a musical composition indicated by the audio data.

Therefore, the video format of the video file F1 is the same as thatshown in FIG. 1A, and the audio format of the audio file F2 is the sameas that shown in FIG. 1B.

The video file F1 including the video data and the audio data, the audiofile F2 including the audio data, the TOC file F3 including the TOCinformation and the computer program title set (CTS) file F4 aredirectly recorded in the DVD-Avd disc at the fundamental format shown inFIG. 43 or are transmitted to a human editor through a recording mediumor a communication circuit. The files transmitted to the human editorare recorded in the DVD-Avd disc at the fundamental format shown in FIG.43.

Accordingly, because the video file F1 including the video data and theaudio data, the audio file F2 including the audio data and the TOC fileF3 including the TOC information are recorded in the DVD-Avd disc at thefundamental format shown in FIG. 43, in cases where a DVD-video discplayer is used to play back the data recorded in the DVD-Avd disc, thevideo data and the audio data of the video file F1 can be played back.Also, in cases where a DVD-Audio disc player is used to play back thedata recorded in the DVD-Avd disc, the audio data of the audio file F2can be played back while playing back the audio data from a top positionof a musical composition indicated by the audio data according to theTOC information. Also, the contents of the audio data played back by theDVD-Audio disc player differ from the contents of the audio data playedback by the DVD-video disc player.

In this embodiment, audio data recorded in the DVD-Avd disc is playedback at multi-channels such as six channels. In cases where the playbackof the audio data at two channels is desired, a mix-down coefficient isrequired. To easily play back the audio data at two channels, themix-down coefficient is recorded in the reserved area of one simpleaudio play pointer (SAPP) shown in FIG. 27B, so that the mix-downcoefficient is promptly read out.

FIG. 44 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc according to a modification of the fifthembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 44, a format of data to be recorded in a DVD-Avd(audio-video data) disc belonging to one type of DVD-Audio disccomprises the video file F1 in which data to be reproduced by using aDVD-video disc player is arranged, the audio file F2 in which data to beplayed back by using a DVD-Audio disc player is arranged, an audiotable-of-contents (TOC) file F3-2 in which TOC information described inFIG. 26A, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27B and FIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG.27C and FIG. 28 is arranged, and video TOC file F3-1 in which TOCinformation is arranged. The TOC information of the audiotable-of-contents (TOC) file F3-2 indicates a top address of the audiodata of the audio file F2, so that the top address of the audio data ofthe audio file F2 is specified according to the TOC information when aDVD-Audio disc player searches the audio file F2, and the audio data ofthe audio file F2 is played back from a top position of a musicalcomposition indicated by the audio data. The TOC information of thevideo TOC file F3-1 indicates a top address of the video data of thevideo file F1 and a top address of the audio data of the video file F1,so that the video data and the audio data in the video file F1 arespecified according to the TOC information of the video TOC file F3-1when a DVD-video disc player searches the video file F1.

The video file F1 including the video data and the audio data, the audiofile F2 including the audio data, the video TOC file F3-1 including theTOC information used for the video data and the audio TOC file F3-1including the TOC information used for the audio data are directlyrecorded in the DVD-Avd disc at the fundamental format shown in FIG. 44or are transmitted to a human editor through a recording medium or acommunication circuit. The files transmitted to the human editor arerecorded in the DVD-Avd disc at the fundamental format shown in FIG. 44.

Accordingly, because the audio data, the video data and the TOCinformation are recorded in the DVD-Avd disc according to thefundamental format shown in FIG. 43, in cases where a DVD-video discplayer is used to reproduce the data recorded in the DVD-Avd disc, thevideo data and the audio data of the video file F1 can be reproducedwhile searching the video file F1 for the video data and the audio dataof the video file F1 according to the TOC information of the TOC fileF3-1. Also, in cases where a DVD-Audio disc player is used to play backthe data recorded in the DVD-Avd disc, the audio data of the audio fileF2 can be played back while playing back the audio data from a topposition of a musical composition indicated by the audio data accordingto the TOC information of the TOC file F3-2. Also, the contents of theaudio data played back by the DVD-Audio disc player differ from thecontents of the audio data played back by the DVD-video disc player.

FIG. 45 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 45, a format of data to be recorded in a DVD-Audio disccomprises the audio file F2 in which data to be played back by using aDVD-Audio disc player is arranged, the table-of-contents (TOC) file F3in which TOC information described in FIG. 26A, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27B andFIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27C and FIG. 28 is arranged, andthe computer program title set (CTS) file F4 in which a program executedby a computer is arranged. The TOC information is used to play backaudio data of the audio file F2 from a top position of a musicalcomposition indicated by the audio data.

The audio file F2 including the audio data, the TOC file F3 includingthe TOC information and the computer program title set (CTS) file F4 aredirectly recorded in the DVD-Audio disc at the fundamental format shownin FIG. 45 or are transmitted to a human editor through a recordingmedium or a communication circuit. The files transmitted to the humaneditor are recorded in the DVD-Audio disc at the fundamental formatshown in FIG. 45.

Accordingly, because any video file F1 is not arranged in the DVD-Audiodisc, though data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc cannot be played backby using a DVD-video disc player, in cases where a DVD-Audio disc playeris used to play back the data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc, the audiodata of the audio file F2 can be played back while playing back theaudio data from a top position.of a musical composition indicated by theaudio data according to the TOC information.

In this embodiment, audio data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc is playedback at multi-channels such as six channels. In cases where the playbackof the audio data at two channels is desired, a mix-down coefficient isrequired. To easily play back the audio data at two channels, themix-down coefficient is recorded in the reserved area of one simpleaudio play pointer (SAPP) shown in FIG. 27B, so that the mix-downcoefficient is promptly read out.

FIG. 46 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discwith musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) data according to aseventh embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 46, a format of data to be recorded in a DVD-Audio discwith MIDI data comprises the audio file F2 in which data to be playedback by using a DVD-Audio disc player is arranged, the table-of-contents(TOC) file F3 in which TOC information described in FIG. 26A, FIG. 27A,FIG. 27B and FIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27C and FIG. 28 isarranged, and an MIDI file F5 in which MIDI data to be played back byusing a personal computer with an MIDI sequencer is arranged. The TOCfile F3 comprises a TOC manager (TOCMG), TOC<1> used for the audio fileF2 and TOC<2> used for the MIDI file F5. The MIDI file F5 classified asan MIDI title set (MTS) comprises an MIDI manager (MMG), an MMG menu(MMGM) and MIDI title sets MTS<1> to MTS<n>. TOC information of theTOC<1> indicates a top address of the audio data of the audio file F2 toplay back the audio data from a top position of a musical compositionindicated by the audio data, and TOC information of the TOC<2> indicatesa top address of audio data of the MIDI file F5, so that the top addressof the MIDI data of the MIDI file F5 is specified according to the TOCinformation, and the MIDI data of the MIDI file F5 is played back from atop position of a musical composition (for example, a background music)indicated by the MIDI data.

The audio file F2 including the audio data, the MIDI file F5 includingthe MIDI data and the TOC file F3 including the TOC information aredirectly recorded in the DVD-Audio disc with MIDI data at thefundamental format shown in FIG. 46 or are transmitted to a human editorthrough a recording medium or a communication circuit. The filestransmitted to the human editor are recorded in the DVD-Audio disc withMIDI data at the fundamental format shown in FIG. 46.

Accordingly, because any video file F1 is not arranged in the DVD-Audiodisc with MIDI data, though data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc withMIDI data cannot be played back by using a DVD-video disc player, incases where a DVD-Audio disc player is used to play back the datarecorded in the DVD-Audio disc with MIDI data, the audio data of theaudio file F2 can be played back while playing back the audio data froma top position of a musical composition indicated by the audio dataaccording to the TOC information of the TOC<1>.

Also, in cases where a personal computer with an MIDI sequencer is usedto play back the data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc with MIDI data, theMIDI data of the MIDI file F5 can be played back while playing back theMIDI data from a top position of a musical composition indicated by theMIDI data according to the TOC information of the TOC<2>.

Therefore, contents of the MIDI data of the MIDI file F5 can differ fromcontents of the audio data of the audio file F2. For example, audio dataindicating an original song is arranged in the ATS<1> to ATS<n>of theaudio file F2, and MIDI data indicating an accompaniment (or abackground music) of the original song is arranged in the MTS<1> toMTS<n>of the MIDI file F5. In this case, users can entertain theoriginal song with its accompaniment or its background music.

FIG. 47 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 47, a format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio disccomprises an audio file F2-1 in which data to be played back by using aDVD-Audio disc player is arranged, an audio file F2-2 in which data tobe played back by using the DVD-Audio disc player is arranged, and thetable-of-contents (TOC) file F3 in which TOC information described inFIG. 26A, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27B and FIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG.27C and FIG. 28 is arranged. The TOC file F3 comprises a TOC manager(TOCMG), TOC<1> used for the audio file F2-1 and TOC<2> used for theaudio file F2-2. The TOC information of the TOC<1> is used to play backaudio data of the audio file F2-1 from a top position of a musicalcomposition indicated by the audio data, and the TOC information of theTOC<2> is used to play back audio data of the audio file F2-2 from a topposition of a musical composition indicated by the audio data.

The audio file F2-1 including the audio data, the audio file F2-2including the audio data and the TOC file F3 including the TOCinformation are directly recorded in the DVD-Audio disc at thefundamental format shown in FIG. 47 or are transmitted to a human editorthrough a recording medium or a communication circuit. The filestransmitted to the human editor are recorded in the DVD-Audio disc atthe fundamental format shown in FIG. 47.

Accordingly, because any video file F1 is not arranged in the DVD-Audiodisc, though data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc cannot be played backby using a DVD-video disc player, in cases where a DVD-Audio disc playeris used to play back the data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc, the audiodata of the audio file F2-1 can be played back while playing back theaudio data from a top position of a musical composition indicated by theaudio data according to the TOC information of the TOC<1>, and the audiodata of the audio file F2-2 can be played back while playing back theaudio data from a top position of a musical composition indicated by theaudio data according to the TOC information of the TOC<2>.

Also, contents of the audio data of the audio file F2-1 can differ fromcontents of the audio data of the audio file F2-2. For example, a musicsource of a musical composition played by a music performer at a firstperformance style is recorded in the ATS<1> to ATS<n>of the audio fileF2-1, and a music source of the musical composition played by the samemusic performer at a second performance style is recorded in the ATS<1>to ATS<n> of the audio file F2-2. Also, a music source of a musicalcomposition played by a first music performer is recorded in the ATS<1>to ATS<n> of the audio file F2-1, and a music source of the musicalcomposition played by a second music performer is recorded in the ATS<1>to ATS<n> of the audio file F2-2. In this case, users can entertain themusical composition at various performance styles.

FIG. 48 shows a fundamental format of data recorded in a DVD-Audio discaccording to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 48, a format of data to be recorded in a DVD-Audio disccomprises the video file F1 in which data to be reproduced by using aDVD-video disc player is arranged, the audio file F2 in which data to beplayed back by using a DVD-Audio disc player is arranged, and thetable-of-contents (TOC) file F3 in which TOC information described inFIG. 26A, FIG. 27A, FIG. 27B and FIG. 28 or in FIG. 26B, FIG. 27A, FIG.27C and FIG. 28 is arranged. The TOC file F3 comprises a TOC manager(TOCMG), TOC<1> used for the video file F1 and TOC<2> used for the audiofile F2. TOC information of the TOC<1> indicates a top address of thevideo data and audio data of the video file F2 to reproduce the videodata and audio data from a top position of picture and music indicatedby the video data and audio data, and TOC information of the TOC<2>indicates a top address of the audio data of the audio file F2 to playback the audio data from a top position of a musical compositionindicated by the audio data, so that the top address of the video andaudio data of the video file F1 is specified according to the TOCinformation, and the audio data of the audio file F2 is played back froma top position of a musical composition indicated by the audio data.

The video file F1 including the video and audio data, the audio file F2including the audio data and the TOC file F3 including the TOCinformation are directly recorded in the DVD-Audio disc at thefundamental format shown in FIG. 48 or are transmitted to a human editorthrough a recording medium or a communication circuit. The filestransmitted to the human editor are recorded in the DVD-Audio disc atthe fundamental format shown in FIG. 48.

Accordingly, in cases where a DVD-Video disc player is used to reproducethe video and audio data recorded in the DVD-Video disc, the video andaudio data of the video file F1 can be reproduced according to the TOCinformation of the TOC<1>. Also, in cases where a DVD-Audio disc playeris used to play back the audio data recorded in the DVD-Audio disc, theaudio data of the audio file F2 can be played back while playing backthe audio data from a top position of a musical composition indicated bythe audio data according to the TOC information of the TOC<2>.

Having illustrated and described the principles of the present inventionin a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art that the invention can be modified inarrangement and detail without departing from such principles. We claimall modifications coming within the scope of the accompanying claims.

1. A signal encoding method, comprising the steps of: encoding a signalto produce audio data, audio manager information, audio manager menudata, audio title set information, and table-of-contents (TOC)information; formatting the audio data, the audio manager information,the audio manager menu data, the audio title set information, and thetable-of-contents (TOC) information to arrange the audio data in anaudio pack, to arrange the audio manager information in an area of anaudio manager, to arrange the audio manager menu data in an area of anaudio manager menu, to arrange the audio title set information in anarea of an audio title set and to arrange the table-of-contents (TOC)information indicative of a position of the audio data in an area of atable-of-contents (TOC) file, said table-of-contents (TOC) file beingindependent of said the audio title set information, thetable-of-contents (TOC) file containing an audio play pointer (SAPP)which has a start address of the audio data in the audio pack andattribute data of the audio pack, and the attribute data containing thenumber of quantization bits of the audio data for playing back a musicalcomposition which contains the audio data; and outputting the audiodata, the audio manager information, the audio manager menu data, theaudio title set information, and the table-of-contents (TOC) informationformatted in the formatting step.
 2. A signal encoding method accordingto claim 1, in which the table-of-contents (TOC) information is dividedinto a plurality of TOC groups where a musical composition containingthe audio data is played back by the respective group.
 3. A signaldecoding method, comprising the steps of: deformatting audio data, audiomanager information, the audio manager menu data, audio title setinformation, and table-of-contents (TOC) information indicative of aposition of the audio data encoded by an encoding apparatus, including(1) signal encoding means for encoding the audio data, the audio managerinformation, the audio manager menu data, the audio title setinformation and the table-of-contents (TOC) information; (2) formattingmeans for formatting the audio data, the audio manager information, theaudio manager menu data, the audio title set information and thetable-of-contents (TOC) information to arrange the audio data in anaudio pack, to arrange the audio manager information in an area of anaudio manager, to arrange the audio manager menu data in an area of anaudio manager menu (AMGM), to arrange the audio title set information inan area of an audio title set and to arrange the table-of-contents (TOC)information indicative of a position of the audio data in atable-of-contents (TOC) file, the table-of-contents (TOC) file beingindependent of the audio title set information, the table-of-contents(TOC) file containing an audio play pointer (SAPP) which has a startaddress of the audio data in the audio pack and attribute data of theaudio pack, the attribute data containing the number of guantizationbits of the audio data for playing back a musical composition whichcontains the audio data; and (3) outputting means for outputting theaudio data, the audio manager information, the audio manager menu data,the audio title set information, and the table-of-contents (TOC)information formatted by the formatting means; and outputting the audiodata from a top position of a musical composition indicated by both thestart address and the attribute data of the audio play pointer (SAPP) ofthe table-of-contents (TOC) file according to the table-of-contents(TOC) information.